Northwest Ordinance (1787) comprises public domain material in the United States. UMGC has modified this
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Northwest Ordinance (1787)
The Northwest Ordinance, adopted July 13, 1787, by the Second Continental Congress, chartered a government for
the Northwest Territory, provided a method for admitting new states to the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of
rights guaranteed in the territory. Following the principles outlined by Thomas Jefferson in the Ordinance of 1784, the
authors of the Northwest Ordinance (probably Nathan Dane and Rufus King) spelled out a plan that was
subsequently used as the country expanded to the Pacific.
The following three principal provisions were ordained in the document: (1) a division of the Northwest Territory into
“not less than three nor more than five States”; (2) a three-stage method for admitting a new state to the Union—with
a congressionally appointed governor, secretary, and three judges to rule in the first phase; an elected assembly and
one nonvoting delegate to Congress to be elected in the second phase, when the population of the territory reached
“five thousand free male inhabitants of full age”; and a state constitution to be drafted and membership to the Union
to be requested in the third phase when the population reached 60,000; and (3) a bill of rights protecting religious
freedom, the right to a writ of habeas corpus, the benefit of trial by jury, and other individual rights. In addition the
ordinance encouraged education and forbade slavery.
The copy of the ordinance on this site is a printed document, dated in the last paragraph and signed by the secretary
of Congress, Charles Thomson.
(Information excerpted from National Archives Education Staff. The Constitution: Evolution of a Government. Santa Barbara:
ABC-CLIO, 2001.)
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Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787)
An Ordinance for the government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio.
Section 1. Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the said territory, for the purposes of
temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances
may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient.
Sec 2. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the estates, both of resident and nonresident proprietors in the
said territory, dying intestate, shall descent to, and be distributed among their children, and the descendants of a
deceased child, in equal parts; the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased
parent in equal parts among them: And where there shall be no children or descendants, then in equal parts to the
next of kin in equal degree; and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall
have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parents’ share; and there shall in no case be a distinction between
kindred of the whole and half blood; saving, in all cases, to the widow of the intestate her third part of the real estate
for life, and one third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents and dower, shall remain in full force
until altered by the legislature of the district. And until the governor and judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter
mentioned, estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or
her in whom the estate may be (being of full age), and attested by three witnesses; and real estates may be
conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed and delivered by the person being of full age, in
whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances
be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates,
courts, and registers shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal property may be transferred by delivery;
saving, however to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, St. Vincents and the
neighboring villages who have heretofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in
force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance, of property.
Sec. 3. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be appointed from time to time by Congress, a
governor, whose commission shall continue in force for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked by Congress;
he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein in 1,000 acres of land, while in the exercise of his
office.
Sec. 4. There shall be appointed from time to time by Congress, a secretary, whose commission shall continue in
force for four years unless sooner revoked; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein in 500
acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by
the legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of the governor in his executive department,
and transmit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings, every six months, to the Secretary of Congress: There
shall also be appointed a court to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common
law jurisdiction, and reside in the district, and have each therein a freehold estate in 500 acres of land while in the
exercise of their offices; and their commissions shall continue in force during good behavior.
Sec. 5. The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original
States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to
Congress from time to time: which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the General Assembly
therein, unless disapproved of by Congress; but afterwards the Legislature shall have authority to alter them as they
shall think fit.
Sec. 6. The governor, for the time being, shall be commander in chief of the militia, appoint and commission all
officers in the same below the rank of general officers; all general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by
Congress.
Sec. 7. Previous to the organization of the general assembly, the governor shall appoint such magistrates and other
civil officers in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order
in the same: After the general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of the magistrates and other civil
officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly; but all magistrates and other civil officers not herein
otherwise directed, shall during the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the governor.
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Sec. 8. For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the
district, and for the execution of process, criminal and civil, the governor shall make proper divisions thereof; and he
shall proceed from time to time as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian
titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and townships, subject, however, to such alterations as may
thereafter be made by the legislature.
Sec. 9. So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants of full age in the district, upon giving proof
thereof to the governor, they shall receive authority, with time and place, to elect a representative from their counties
or townships to represent them in the general assembly: Provided, That, for every five hundred free male inhabitants,
there shall be one representative, and so on progressively with the number of free male inhabitants shall the right of
representation increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty five; after which, the number and
proportion of representatives shall be regulated by the legislature: Provided, That no person be eligible or qualified to
act as a representative unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident
in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three years; and, in either case, shall likewise hold in his
own right, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land within the same; Provided, also, That a freehold in fifty acres of
land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the states, and being resident in the district, or the like freehold and
two years residence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
Sec. 10. The representatives thus elected, shall serve for the term of two years; and, in case of the death of a
representative, or removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a
member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
Sec. 11. The general assembly or legislature shall consist of the governor, legislative council, and a house of
representatives. The Legislative Council shall consist of five members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner
removed by Congress; any three of whom to be a quorum: and the members of the Council shall be nominated and
appointed in the following manner, to wit: As soon as representatives shall be elected, the Governor shall appoint a
time and place for them to meet together; and, when met, they shall nominate ten persons, residents in the district,
and each possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to Congress; five of whom
Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid; and, whenever a vacancy shall happen in the council,
by death or removal from office, the house of representatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for
each vacancy, and return their names to Congress; one of whom congress shall appoint and commission for the
residue of the term. And every five years, four months at least before the expiration of the time of service of the
members of council, the said house shall nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to
Congress; five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as members of the council five years,
unless sooner removed. And the governor, legislative council, and house of representatives, shall have authority to
make laws in all cases, for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this
ordinance established and declared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the
council, shall be referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill, or legislative act whatever, shall be of any force
without his assent. The governor shall have power to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the general assembly, when,
in his opinion, it shall be expedient.
Sec. 12. The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such other officers as Congress shall appoint in the
district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity and of office; the governor before the president of congress, and all
other officers before the Governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district, the council and house
assembled in one room, shall have authority, by joint ballot, to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in
Congress, with a right of debating but not voting during this temporary government.
Sec. 13. And, for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis whereon
these republics, their laws and constitutions are erected; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws,
constitutions, and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory: to provide also for the
establishment of States, and permanent government therein, and for their admission to a share in the federal councils
on an equal footing with the original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest:
Sec. 14. It is hereby ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid, That the following articles shall be considered
as articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the said territory and forever remain
unalterable, unless by common consent, to wit:
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Art. 1. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his
mode of worship or religious sentiments, in the said territory.
Art. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus, and of
the trial by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people in the legislature; and of judicial proceedings
according to the course of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses, where the proof
shall be evident or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be
inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land;
and, should the public exigencies make it necessary, for the common preservation, to take any person’s property, or
to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation of
rights and property, it is understood and declared, that no law ought ever to be made, or have force in the said
territory, that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide, and
without fraud, previously formed.
Art. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind,
schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed
towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and, in their
property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by
Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity, shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs being
done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
Art. 4. The said territory, and the States which may be formed therein, shall forever remain a part of this Confederacy
of the United States of America, subject to the Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall be
constitutionally made; and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled, conformable
thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts contracted
or to be contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress
according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other
States; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the
legislatures of the district or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within the time agreed upon by the
United States in Congress assembled. The legislatures of those districts or new States, shall never interfere with the
primary disposal of the soil by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find
necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the
property of the United States; and, in no case, shall nonresident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The
navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be
common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United
States, and those of any other States that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost, or duty
therefor.
Art. 5. There shall be formed in the said territory, not less than three nor more than five States; and the boundaries of
the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession, and consent to the same, shall become fixed and
established as follows, to wit: The western State in the said territory, shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio,
and Wabash Rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due North, to the territorial line between
the United States and Canada; and, by the said territorial line, to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle
State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct
line, drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami, to the said territorial line, and by the said territorial line. The
eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial line:
Provided, however, and it is further understood and declared, that the boundaries of these three States shall be
subject so far to be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority to form one or
two States in that part of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend
or extreme of Lake Michigan. And, whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein,
such State shall be admitted, by its delegates, into the Congress of the United States, on an equal footing with the
original States in all respects whatever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State
government: Provided, the constitution and government so to be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the
principles contained in these articles; and, so far as it can be consistent with the general interest of the confederacy,
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such admission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when there may be a less number of free inhabitants in the
State than sixty thousand.
Art. 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment
of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted: Provided, always, That any person escaping into the
same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully
reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the resolutions of the 23rd of April, 1784, relative to the subject of this
ordinance, be, and the same are hereby repealed and declared null and void.
Done by the United States, in Congress assembled, the 13th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1787, and of their
soveriegnty and independence the twelfth.
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